We Need to Emphasise Critical Thinking in Schools – Janet M7

We Need to Emphasise Critical Thinking in Schools – Janet M7

By Serestino Tusingwire

The Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, has said that the government will soon introduce new teaching methods that will emphasise critical thinking as opposed to memorising for the sake of passing exams.

The minister, who called on MPs to rally behind her in a bid to revamp the education sector, was speaking at the release of the 2016 Uganda Certificate of Education examination results at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kampala on Tuesday.

“I discourage the habit of focusing on only passing exams, that’s why we have been having many failures. Teachers should know that they should not spend most of their time in doing mocks.” Janet said.

Janet Museveni also promised more initiatives to stem the numbers of girls dropping out of school.

While the government has shown its commitment to increase access to education for primary and secondary school pupils through its universal education programmes, many girls have not been able to complete their education because of being forced to do chores at home or married off before they turn 18.

A recent study by UNESCO revealed that Uganda had the highest dropout rate in East Africa with 75% of pupils, most of whom are girls.